Merry Christmas One and All

To all our friends out there, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas. We hope that the love and spirit of Christ's mission on earth can warm each of your hearts. Merry Christmas from our family to you.

(Of course MaryP is our poster child) She's so cute!

Going Bald

My older brother said that as a child I looked like a white Diana Ross. My hair has always been "large and in charge" so to speak. I've often had it intentionally thinned at hair appointments in an attempt to manage it. I usually still end up with a small afro by the evenings.

Lately though I've been worried about going bald. Well, not really, but about a month ago MaryP started taking more bottles (for a variety of reasons) and I'm only nursing about 1/3 of the time now. Ever since then my hair has been falling out and every time I brush it, especially right after I wash it, more hair ends up in my brush then I feel good about, and more in my hands too.

I've heard about post-pregnancy hair loss - how long does this go on for?

Hopefully not too long, or Diana Ross could end up looking like Sinead O'Connor.

The last month

We've been busy this last month here in Washington. Wood's work is in full swing and he's actually been on his sub (woo-hoo!). We helped make the decorations for our ward Christmas party a Who-ville theme complete with a 13 foot cardboard mountain for the Grinch. The decorations looked awesome - I wish I'd taken pictures. We're still rooting through boxes and trying to find/make a place for everything. I'm a good pile mover - I move piles from one room to the other. So I really need a place for everything to reduce my piles. We are official Costco members and have purchased gross quantities of diapers, dishwasher detergent, toilet paper, and other "bulk" items. We're trying to get to know people from our ward and the boat. We've been able to visit some family and hope to visit more. We've had sunshine, snow, and rain. Since they don't believe in snowplows around here, any snow, especially the wet, sticky stuff is pretty debilitating. Church ended early 2 Sundays ago for 3-6 inches of snow. We barely made it home (seriously). The next day Wood came home early because of severe flooding in the area. Fortunately we were fine, though many of his co-workers were affected. I guess they usually have a storm like that this time of the year, so hopefully it's out of the way and we won't have another one like that for a year!

MaryP has been busy too. She'll hit her 5 month mark on Tuesday. It seems like she's learning something new all of the time. Like grabbing my dishes at the table. Those little hands can be pretty quick! She's as cute as ever and a delight to both of us. Here are just a few pictures of what she's been up to.

Outgrowing her pajamas

So she got her first trundlebundle
(aka: soft footie pajamas with a zipper)

All clean!

Finding her feet

Getting ready for the ward Christmas party

I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and a wonderful daughter!

Six Things

Someone challenged me to blog tag, so here are 6 interesting/little known things about me:

1. Thanks to my hubby, I now enjoy some techno music (particularly Daft Punk).

2. I've maneuvered the bucket on one of these bad boys for work.

3. My goal is to one day write a book/books for children - I love children's literature and storytelling.

4. As a child I though ET and the gremlins lived under my bed ..... I still won't watch those movies.

5. I don't have a problem with reading ahead in a book if I'm getting worried about the outcome. Then I'll go back and read the middle and thoroughly enjoy it.

6. I just discovered that I enjoy cranberries on turkey - who knew?!

Rice Cereal

Yummmmmm......

*My baby spoon is somewhere in my home (where is a very good question) so we used a measuring spoon instead. MaryP didn't seem to mind.

Arrival

So if you haven't been keeping in tune, we have moved from coast to coast.













We are safely in Silverdale, WA (right next to Bangor Subase). And what do you know! Only 4200 miles more on the odometer!

3 Months

MaryP hit her 3 month mark a week ago. She loves standing (with our help) and looking around. She could stare down anyone, she hardly ever blinks, making her look all the more intent on studying her surroundings. Her face lights ups when she sees her daddy, she loves to coo and talk and will sometimes "sing" along with me. We are amazed at how much she has grown and changed - she is a delight and brings so much light to our family. We sure love our little girl!

Here are just a few pictures of her - my brain isn't functioning properly and I need to finish packing but I wanted to post them before we left - so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Clues

So, we are down to the last toilet paper roll
. . .and we like it that way.

We eat odd combinations of food:
like Pot stickers & soy sauce, BBQ chicken and rice, Jello, and oranges for dinner.

And we're making devious and conniving plans to confuse the mailman once again.

If you haven't guessed or heard the word, we're moving again. I think we are doing a better job of getting rid of all our food and supplies. I wonder if the post office will do a double forward? We are still getting mail forwarded from our last location.

The funniest thing of all to me is that back when Woodine name this blog "Into the Woods" I thought, "Oh that is so fitting, we live up north of Albany and there are lots of woods here." But we moved to Connecticuit, and Groton puts NY to shame for being woodsy. From what I saw of the Bangor WA area, it looks like we will continue the trend of moving deeper and deeper into the woods.

I'm really excited for this trip. We'll be able to see the PennHens (my brother & his family) in PA, John and Alison (two really good friends from BYU) in Wisconsin, Both sets of parents, four brothers and one or two sisters while we are in CO and UT.

We are looking for some good book on CDs or normal books to read on the trip. Woodine finished Eclipse, and I am reading Elantris. By the way, I really like Elantris and recommend it. Our problem is we usually get book on CDs from the library, and I don't think it would be prudent to take a library CD across the country. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

*This blog was started a few days ago and we're heading out tomorrow. Book suggestions would still be welcome. We didn't quite make it through our food. Does anyone need a large bag of sugar? Or an almost-full bottle of vinegar?

Apparently this is very comfortable!

Early Start

We got a great jump-start on our day today. A 3:40 AM jump start. MaryP was sleeping soundly, but Wood's alarm had gone off around 2:45 and we had fallen back asleep (can you blame us?). Somehow the time on his clock was set 4 hours ahead and so when we re-woke at "7:40" (aka 3:40) we thought we'd over-slept and that he was running late. We hopped out of bed and quickly started getting ready, only to notice the correct time on other clocks. With a relieved sigh we climbed back under the covers, almost with a sense of cheating time and getting extra sleep. Almost.

All dressed up

So things are pretty laid back here in Connecticut. We have lots of time to spend together which is a nice reprieve before we get to the boat and life gets busy and Wood starts making trips out to sea. We do go out and about - to the library, on walks, etc. We also spend a lot of time around the house. Although after the conversation last night, I think maybe I've been a little too relaxed.

Scene: Me- dressed in jeans, a sweater, and my hair not in a bun (I really need to get it cut!).

Enter Wood, just coming home from a flag football game.

Wood: Hey, what are you all dressed up for?
Me: Um, I'm not dressed up. I just decided to change out of my exercise* clothes and put my hair down.
Wood: Oh, well it looks nice.

If jeans and a sweater is dressy, maybe I'd better re-think my daily routine! I guess it is a notch up from my semi-formal wear - jeans and a T-shirt!

*Wearing exercise clothes may or may not indicate actual exercise occurred.

Maine

Two weekends ago we headed up to Maine. It was only a 4 hour drive from here - though this was extended by Boston traffic and an unhappy baby - she was bored? Once we got into Maine we saw some really beautiful fall colors! By the time we made it to the Navy Lodge it was too dark to do any sight-seeing, so we made our way to a restaurant to try some Maine lobster. We shared the dinner and it was one of those things that is fun to do once, but we probably won't repeat. We had New England clam chowder, lobster, muscles, and crab-stuffed haddock. That haddock was our favorite. I wish we had taken a picture of the plate with the lobster and the muscles, it looked awesome!

We decided that lobster is really a glorified way to eat butter - but we couldn't pass up the opportunity while in Maine! However, I decided I do not enjoy seeing the whole creature I am eating while eating it. First of all, it looks like a bug. Not to mention those bug-like legs that were flailing around while Wood cracked the thing open. And removing the intestines - blech. I guess I've seen a fish cleaned before, but that doesn't bother me as much. Yep, I definitely am not a lobster lover. Once was enough for me.

Saturday we drove down two peninsulas and onto some little islands. The Maine coastline is truly a must-see in my book. We didn't get out to take pictures (someone was sleeping happily as long as we kept moving) but it was just incredible. A very rugged coastline with rock and sand formations jutting out into the sea. Combine this with fall colors and you have quite a scene.

We also made our way to the Portland Head Light - one of the most famous light houses, and commissioned by George Washington. The weather was not ideal, but the view was!

Shots

Apparently our family is due for shots. MaryP just had hers (and is due for more soon) and Wood came home from work yesterday having received 5 shots, 1 PPD test for tuberculosis, and his blood drawn. Yuck. We are happy to report he does not have tuberculosis.

Great weekend

This last weekend my dad came down for a little visit. He had business in Boston Wednesday through Saturday so he popped down for Saturday evening and Sunday before he flew to Rochester for more business on Monday. It was so nice to have him here! Saturday afternoon we took him to nearby Bluff Point which is the " last remaining significant piece of undeveloped land along the Connecticut coastline." It's about a 3 mile walk and really, really pretty. MaryP slept through most of it, but I'm sure she enjoyed it too!

Saturday evening we ordered out Applebee's (which makes it much easier with a baby). Disposable is definitely my favorite kind of dishes. Thanks Dad!

MaryP sure enjoyed seeing her Grandpa B. When he was playing with her she was smiling and making noises that were about as close to a laugh as I've heard yet. It was really fun to hear. She coos for Mom and Dad, but I guess right now the laughs are for Grandpa!

My favorite part of him being here was just talking and talking about anything. Our year + adventure on the East has convinced me that I could be very happy living in this area. But I sure miss being close to family, so it was a real treat. I sure love you Dad, it was great to see you!

Adjusting to a New Home

So, I guess we've been in CT for 1 month of our 2 month, 1 week stay. Time has flown by. We haven't been able to visit Mark and Shana yet, but we did visit with Daniel and Brittney. We're going to Maine for the weekend to see the fall colors on the coast. I hope it turns out great.

My flag football team can't seem to win. But I still have fun. I also can't seem to keep the skin on my knees because I dive to much trying to pull flags, or catch passes. The grass is scratchy, I always hope it rains the day before we play. :(

In other news, MaryP is two months and one day old now. She got her shots yesterday. Four in her little legs, and one orally. I guess the oral one wasn't a shot. Here are her battle wounds.
The nurse said she was a very good baby and that we were lucky. I agree. Woodine did say that MaryP was very well behaved for the shots. The day after, she is not feeling as good.

I finished reading Twilight today, and Christine is almost finished Eragon. I think we'll swap. I also checked out a book called Thunder Below about Eugene B. Fluckey who died this last month. He was an amazing submariner who received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and a bunch of other awards for his daring raids on the Japanese during WWII. His submarine (USS Barb) sunk more Japanese Naval tonnage than any other American ship (including aircraft carriers).

And last of all - I wanted to let everybody know that I think MaryP is cute. And here is my evidence.

Double Vision

Psyche!

Have your children ever done this to you?

Right before our move MaryP started acting differently. It started on Saturday with her cry sounding scratchy. I don't know how else to describe it - it really sounded like she was becoming hoarse. Sunday she sounded worse, but no fever, so I called the on-call pediatrician because I'm a new mommy with a steep learning curve and a touch of paranoia. He said it may be something viral and it might be good to bring her in on Monday or Tuesday to our doctor. Except we were moving that day. So we made the drive to Connecticut and MaryP did well until the very end.

Monday she still sounded hoarse and, though no fever, was not herself. Instead of really crying if she was upset (like she normally does) she would make these whimpery little cries. And she was acting more mellow/clingy.

Enter paranoid new mommy.

I called the doctors Monday morning, but because we just moved here and it's a temporary duty assignment for Wood they had neither mine nor MaryP's medical records and would not allow me to make an appointment until all of the paper work was complete (don't they make exceptions for people who have been there less then 24 hours?). So, Wood came home for lunch and we started running around trying to get the paperwork done. I dropped him off at work so I could have the car and continued plowing ahead. A seemingly long time later, paperwork done!

MaryP still was acting whimpery. Kindly, the doctor made a special arrangement to see us that day because I'd been unable to make an appointment. Hooray.

About 3 minutes before the doctor sees us MaryP decides she's really hungry (I'm not good at nursing in public yet and she was happy if I swung her, so she was a little overdue for her lunch) and starts screaming. Loudly. It doesn't sound hoarse. She's not whimpering. Enter doctor.

*I feel so stupid at this point!

Me: Really, for the last 3 days she's had a hoarse voice.
Doctor: She doesn't sound hoarse to me.
Me: And she hasn't been crying much, more whimpering.
MaryP: "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Doctor: Sounds good to me.
Me: And she's been acting sort of lethargic.
Doctor: This doesn't look too lethargic.
Me: Sighhhhhhh

MaryP checked out just fine, though the doctor said we could use Tylenol and graciously remarked that mother's intuition is often best. He did re-define lethargic for me, which will be logged away into my catalog of "when to worry about your kid" definitions.

Yesterday MaryP was back to her amiable self, I'm so glad she is healthy. I'd rather wound my own pride and have her be healthy .... but I sure felt silly. I did speak with my older brother who laughed and said his 2 boys have done the same thing - be sick right up until the doctors appointment, then show no signs of having ever been ill.

Ah well, our paper work is done and hopefully I won't have to worry about anything here but well baby visits.

Update: Pictures of a Cutie Pie

Here's some more cute pictures.

Dressed for a walk in the park.

Ready to go to Church

Practicing for a Bath

I have a few reservations about sharing this, but . . . but it's just so cute!

Cute Little Bottom

Progression

For our 10 week stint in Connecticut we are only taking what we can fit in our car. Everything else will be stored, then shipped to Washington. The following progression is why we wish we could find a way to squeeze in the baby swing. Maybe we could strap it on top of the car?

She goes from this

to this

to this -hooray!

Getting along

MaryP and Grandma SPH-1 seemed to get along pretty well......

most of the time.

Pretty in Pink

So blessed

We've been so blessed to have family here to be with us and MaryP.

My mom was here for the first week and that was wonderful. Not only to have someone cook, clean, burp the baby, change the baby, and rock the baby when I was too tired .... those things merit wonderful in and of themselves. But to have her there to just talk with - about baby stuff and about life. It was so nice to plop down on the couch and be able to talk about whatever. It always makes me sad when I hear people my age really griping about their parents - I really can't relate. She and I are such good friends - I can't imagine it any other way. I wondered what I would need a mom for when the baby came - just one little person, right? Even though the little person is a very good baby that sleeps well, I discovered that yes, it was really nice (and helpful) to have her there. We had such a good time together, it made it hard for me to say goodbye. Fortunately SPH-1 stepped in. I know she feels like she doesn't have as much to do - no running interference with other children, etc. But I sure appreciate the help with cleaning, cooking, and the chance to put my feet up for one more week! Not to mention being able to pick her brain about baby questions, or to just chat (or the sewing aid she is rendering at this moment - phew!). We have a few more days with her here and then we will be flying solo. Yikes!

I can't complain though. MaryP really is a very good baby who sleeps well for a new born at night and has an even temper. Except when she's being bathed - then watch out! So, we've decided to never bathe her again.Ok, maybe not. But it's a tempting alternative when I see her scream and thrash about. Ah well, hopefully she will learn to like it sooner rather then later.

Last weekend my dad and younger brother and Daddy-O, Nathan and SPH-1 joined us for MaryP's baby blessing. It was really nice to have family here (though Lady you were right about tight quarters - 8 people was just right for our apartment....hopefully we can pop by and visit your family soon!) I especially enjoyed seeing my brother who returned from his mission in Argentina the day after MaryP came. Unfortunately we don't seem to have any pictures of him on our camera (rats!). He heads to the Y in the fall and I hope to see him again as we visit family in UT on our way to WA. Anyway, it was really wonderful to have family here - we were sad to say goodbye but hope to see them again soon.
MaryP was so good for the blessing. I guess she was just calmly looking up as she was being blessed. We continue to be delighted to have her in our family!

Dad's Salon

From the contented look on her face, it must be the place to go!

MaryP

So, if you didn't remember, we made an announcement a little while ago. Well, she came.


MaryP Henrichsen was born at 3:36 pm on Wednesday, July 18th. She weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing great and taking their first nap at home right now.

I think her new name will be Mary Poppins because she is "Practically perfect in every way."


This picture was taken about 20 seconds after MaryP was born. The doctor told Woodine that after her head came out she would pause to clean out her nose and mouth then she should push out the body, but when she came MaryP came out all at once, surprising the doctor. MaryP was ready and rarin' to go!

Woodine was due on Saturday, July 14th. Saturday came and went. We had consigned ourselves to the fact that she was probably going to come late. Woodine was small for a 9 month pregnant woman, and hadn't had many contractions. We saw the doctor on Tuesday. Since MaryP kept on growing, but mom's belly wasn't the doctor asked us if we wanted to be induced right then. With my eyebrows raised I said, "uh. . . sure." But Woodine hadn't had a good night sleep, and we were planning on taking a nap right after the Dr's appointment, so we opted to be induced the next morning (not like Woodine or I got a good night's sleep that night - too much anticipation). We showed up and they broke her water and started her on Pitocin at 8:00 am. By noon, she was having strong hard contractions closer than the nurse wanted. Woodine opted to get an epidural. It was a lifesaver. The rest of the labor was more like rest and less like labor. She could hardly feel the contractions, but she still progressed rapidly. MaryP's heart rate dipped during two contractions in a row. The nurse decided to check her progress, and found that the baby was coming really soon. She called the doctor and told her to come quickly. They set up quickly and then MaryP came quickly. From induction to birth it took about 7 1/2 hours. Not bad for a first pregnancy.

I honestly expected MaryP to be uglier when she was born. We looked online about some things, like when to clamp the cord and found pictures that grossed both of us out. MaryP was cleaner and prettier than any of those pictures. Yes she was purple, but I think anyone if they had to go through what MaryP went through.



I can't believe how much we have been blessed. So many things have gone so well for us. I know many people who have had so many more trials along the way. I can't help but thank God for giving me a healthy baby girl and a healthy wife.